THE Queensland government has been urged by Toowoomba veterenarian Dr Kylie Goldthorpe to read up on what some in the field of medical research see as "unacceptable risks" to human health from CSG waste and legislate accordingly.
In an email sent to Premier Campbell Newman, Queensland chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young and Minister for Agriculture John McVeigh last week, Dr Goldthorpe said heavy metals, organic compounds and radio-nucleotides found in mine and CSG waste were now being released into the soil and water resources of southern Queensland in unprecedented amounts.
She said two new independent peer-reviewed papers, one in The Lancet Neurology, a leading global publication, and the other in the Medical Journal of Australia, look at what science has said this kind of activity can do to human health.
Dr Goldthorpe said The Lancet paper looked at the "alarming rise of behavioural neurotoxicity in children from the large number of chemicals released into the environment", while the MJA paper looked into broader CSG waste health risks.
Along with colleague and Morayfield GP Dr Geralyn McCarron, Dr Goldthorpe wrote to Queensland government officials in November last year voicing concerns about "serious health consequences of CSG wastes" and the proposed NuGrow development at Kogan as reported in the November 21 edition of Queensland Country Life.
"The Gas Compliance Unit was most helpful in informing us that the drill waste proposal was being considered by DEHP.
"However, the public would not be informed of its decision nor any conditions or regulations imposed if NuGrow received an EA and proceeded with the trial," Dr Goldthorpe said in her email.
"The residents adjacent to the trial area have noted that the bulldozers have moved into the trial site so we are assuming permission has been granted.
"Health Minister Lawrence Springborg has stated that the government will look at evidence as a basis for decision-making.
"The evidence is overwhelming as to the medical threats from mine wastes.
"Current regulations using only dilution factors and containment as a temporary solution are clearly inadequate. Too many of these chemicals persist in the environment and continue to be toxic for centuries."
